2015 Hyundai Sonata Is the First Car with Android Auto

Owners of model-year 2015 Sonatas will be able to plug their Android-powered smartphones (running the latest 5.0 “Lollipop” version of the mobile operating system) into their Hyundais via micro USB cable. Upon first plug-in, users are prompted to download the Android Auto app, which will use the phone’s processing power to pop a pared-down, driver-optimized version of Android’s software onto the in-dash screen.

Essentially, Android Auto (and competitor Apple CarPlay) will take over the car’s touch screen to control the smartphone apps you’re most likely to use while driving, via a minimally distracting interface optimized for driver voice control. Necessary apps like Google Maps, Google Play Music, voice-activated Google Now (Android’s answer to Siri), and a voice-powered messaging suite will all show up on the dashboard screen, along with car-optimized versions of third-party apps like Spotify, NPR, iHeartRadio, and more; apps that Google doesn’t consider necessary while driving, like email, social media, and games, are all blocked. The phone itself remains locked while it’s plugged in to the dashboard, and since the touch screen merely operates as an external control to the smartphone, your dashboard stays as up-to-date as your phone, rather than going obsolete with ever new model year. Here’s a video demo from when the software was first announced in 2014:

Both Google and Apple promise widespread availability of their smartphone-powered dashboard software by the end of 2015, with many automakers vowing to support both operating systems. In an ideal world, this means that your next new-car purchase could play nice with whichever smartphone you prefer. Now if only we could convince holdouts like Toyota to play along.